The Blythes Are Quoted

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

pick

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
This is a weird one to rate, for me. For enjoyment, it‘s more of a so-so, but it was so fascinating to read this unique, posthumously-published work that I‘m counting it as a pick. Its odd structure—short stories alternated with poetry & little vignettes of Anne & her family—really worked for me, breaking up the stories so there was more variety. I loved the glimpses into Anne & Gilbert‘s life after the Anne books.⤵️

BarbaraJean While the vignettes didn‘t necessarily deepen or add to the characters I loved from the Anne series, they added another layer to the story, seeing Anne & Gilbert after the war & after the loss of Walter. Seeing glimpses of that grief, and the hints of WWII on the horizon, gave the book more weight & the stories more seriousness than I‘ve felt with others of LMM‘s short stories. It‘s not one I‘ll re-read often if at all, but I‘m glad I read it. 2y

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kwmg40

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

pick

This collection of short stories, poems and vignettes, was published posthumously, I didn't care for all the stories and there seemed to be a lot of repetition. However, I found it interesting to see LMM's exploration of themes like aging and dying, as she neared the end of her own life.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead @BarbaraJean

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TheAromaofBooks

The Blythes Are Quoted: Penguin Modern Classics Edition | L. M. Montgomery

pick

Boy howdy are they ever quoted! I did actually end up enjoying this collection of short stories and poetry, but the neverending Blythe references did get on my nerves. If you like LMM's short stories, you'll probably enjoy this collection, but I don't particularly feel like it added anything to Anne series per se. Haven't had time to jump in on the discussion posts @BarbaraJean but hopefully today!!

BarbaraJean Jump in whenever you can! I just realized I posted questions but didn‘t respond to any of them 😂 Maybe I should jump into the discussion today as well! 2y

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quietjenn

The Blythes Are Quoted: Penguin Modern Classics Edition | L. M. Montgomery

pick

I wasn't sure that I'd have the time or inclination for this #kindredspiritsbuddyread, but I guess I was in the mood! I'm not entirely sure I got whatever point LMM was making (I am not, generally speaking, a poetry person) and don't know how much the "Blythe interludes" really added to things for me, but overall I really enjoyed this collection of stories and am glad to have read it.

Aimeesue Lovely cover ❤️ 2y

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BarbaraJean

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - The Blythes Are Quoted - discussion part 5

Which stories were your favorites (or least favorites)?
What did you think of the poems?
Did you like the book as a whole?

kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

TheAromaofBooks I enjoyed some stories more than others, but there weren't any that became immediate favorites for me. I did overall like this book, but honestly about the same as any of her other short story collections. While it's one I may reread sometime, I don't feel like I need to reread every time I go through the Anne series (which is once every year or two haha) 2y

kwmg40 I loved how the story is told through many points-of-view in “Here Comes the Bride“ and some of the commentary was hilarious. I didn't care for “The Road to Yesterday“. It felt cringey, even with the twist at the end making the situation OK. I enjoyed the poems at first, but they started to blur together after a while. I am very glad I'd read the book, not for the stories but because it gave some insight into LMM herself. 2y

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 I really enjoyed “Here Comes the Bride as well! I started out annoyed with so many disagreeable characters, but it grew on me for sure. I felt similarly about “The Road to Yesterday,“ as well as “Brother Beware.“ But I fell in love with “The Cheated Child.“ Such a sweet story. Like @TheAromaofBooks, I definitely won't reread this one like I do so many of LMM's novels, but I think it's a really interesting addition to LMM's work. 2y

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BarbaraJean

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - The Blythes Are Quoted discussion - part 4

In the Afterword, the editor comments on how much darker this book is than LMM‘s other work. Did you find it darker than the Anne series or other LMM books you‘ve read?

If you read Among the Shadows last month, did you notice any parallels in the “darker” subject matter between the two books? (I mean, other than the Blythe-ified version of “Some Fools and a Saint”)

kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

TheAromaofBooks I felt like this fell into line with Among the Shadows - it didn't seem like there was anything darker here than we read in the Emily books or Mistress Pat. Some of the stories do show the flip side to romance and family, but it never felt like she was being melodramatic. If this had been published as originally intended I think maybe it would have felt more serious than her other books, but after reading so many of her collections, not so much. 2y

kwmg40 I found this collection darker in that many of the stories and poems deal with aging, death and the war. Among the Shadows was dark in a different way, in that many stories dealt with supernatural elements. However, most stories in this collection dealt with the pain and sorrow of real life. 2y

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BarbaraJean

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - The Blythes Are Quoted- discussion part 3

Did you like reading about the Blythes as background characters in the stories? Did it work for you or did it feel forced?

Did reading other characters‘ opinions about the Blythes affect your view of Anne and Gilbert? (Or did it affect your view of those characters who talk about the Blythes?)

kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

TheAromaofBooks It definitely felt forced about 95% of the time. Like seriously, does everyone in the entire environ of Glen St. Mary constantly compare everything in their lives to the Blythes??? It just seemed unlikely. Once or twice in a story maybe, but on almost every page it started to wear on me. However, I didn't really feel like it was the Blythes fault (lol) so it didn't necessarily change my view of them. 2y

kwmg40 It felt forced to me too. Indeed, all the chatter about the Blythes made them seem like one-dimensional characters! Still, it was nice to see Anne and Gilbert grow old together. 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks 😂 It cracked me up after a while, that they were such a focus of attention for the ENTIRE VILLAGE. Everyone was obsessed with them. Some of the negative comments about Anne felt SO realistic to me--a little like Katherine Brooke's initial annoyance with her in Windy Poplars. Those parts made me laugh & step outside the Anne-idolization a bit. @kwmg40 Overall, it felt very Rollings Reliable. Which I guess is exactly what LMM did! (edited) 2y

TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean @kwmg40 - I especially got the Rollings Reliable vibe reading Some Fools and a Saint because we had JUST read that one in Among the Shadows, but here's the same story, except with a generous seasoning of Blythes sprinkled in! 😂 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I didn't even re-read “Some Fools and a Saint“ because I'd read it so recently--I just skimmed through to see where the Blythe parts were! I thought that one was the most forced, but no wonder, because those were the only parts I read. 😂 It was so WEIRD how everyone kept discussing what Dr. Blythe thought of their ghost, like Gilbert was the rational authority on everything. 🙄 2y

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BarbaraJean

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - The Blythes Are Quoted - discussion part 2

What did you think of the structure of the book—the way it alternates between stories and poems and little comments & responses from the Blythes & Susan Baker?

Did you like the little vignettes—the glimpses we get into the Blythes‘ lives in the years after the Anne books conclude?

kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

TheAromaofBooks I actually did enjoy the format of the book. I'm not a big poetry reader, so there isn't any way I would have sat and just read a book comprised entirely of poems, so I enjoyed having them mixed together. However, each chapter/interlude in this book just felt like its own individual thing. Despite the supposed progression through time of the poetry sections, I never really felt like this book “belonged“ together - the stories (and poems) felt ⬇ 2y

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) somewhat random to me, although I did also read this over the course of most of November, so maybe I lost some of the thematic cohesion because of it. 2y

kwmg40 I too liked the structure of the book. The poems and vignettes brought some cohesion to the entire work, though there seemed to be quite a bit of repetition. 2y

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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks @kwmg40 I enjoyed the format, too. I've found her short stories a little repetitive & tedious, because she seems to use similar themes and plots so much. But these stories felt more varied, and I liked having the poems & vignettes to break things up a bit. I wasn't a huge fan of the poetry, but it was interesting in combination with the family's reactions & comments. 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks @kwmg40 Although the stories didn't necessarily feel like they fit with the poems and vignettes, I really liked the vignettes--glimpses into Anne & Gilbert's future. I would have liked more from each one, though. I honestly wonder what this book would have been like if LMM had lived long enough to refine it and rework it a bit. 2y

TheAromaofBooks I would have loved one story about all the grandchildren. I think that would have added so much to the book and to the overall legacy of Anne and her family. 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Yes! Toward the end (maybe in Road to Yesterday?) there were so many references to Blythe & Meredith grandchildren and they all seemed to be named after parents or aunts/uncles, so it was impossible to tell which children were whose. I needed a story to introduce me to the next generation! I also wouldn't say no to a story about the grown-up Blythe and Meredith kids, and how they all end up married to each other. 😂 2y

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BarbaraJean

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Posting this #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead discussion a little later in the day than usual—jump in when you can 😊 (Full disclosure: I adapted some questions from here: https://reading-lmm.livejournal.com/7978.html)

Would you consider The Blythes Are Quoted to be part of the Anne series? Why or why not?

Did reading it change your view of Anne and Gilbert or of the Anne books as a whole? Does it add to or diminish the other books for you?

kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

kwmg40 I'm just past the halfway point. I'll return in a few days with my comments! 2y

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 👍🏼Totally understand—this one is long! 2y

TheAromaofBooks I don't think I would consider this a part of Anne books. It doesn't really add anything to the characters that we didn't already know/wasn't strongly implied in Rilla. More of a companion piece, I guess. I read some reviews and also in the introductory section of the book that basically said something like, “we see the decline in romance between Gilbert and Anne“ and??? I didn't get that vibe at all? 2y

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TheAromaofBooks Also, this is a side note, but this quote from the introduction really annoyed me, talking about Anne of Ingleside, “[includes a storyline about] Anne's suspicion that Gilbert has lost interest in her. These suspicions are proven in the end to be unfounded, but for adult readers in particular, the happy ending seems unconvincing.“ ????? Does anyone actually think that??? I'm genuinely curious because that is NOT the vibe I get at all. 2y

kwmg40 This book doesn't seem to fit into the Anne series, as there isn't really much in terms of character or plot development. So no, it doesn't really change how I feel about the characters or other books. It felt more like revisiting old friends. I also agree with @TheAromaofBooks about the unexpected comments from the editor! 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks @kwmg40 I totally agree--it feels very much like a companion book. It's SO different from the main series. And I did NOT get a “decline in romance“ vibe at all, either. I thought it was really sweet to see some of their interactions in the vignettes. I read those as them being just as in love as ever! There was a sadness to the ones after WWI, and Gilbert seemed concerned about Anne and her grief, but NOT a decline in romance! 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I thought that characterization of Anne of Ingleside was odd, too. I didn't find Ingleside's happy ending unconvincing. It felt rushed, but it was a fairly usual LMM “misunderstandings resolved“ ending. Honestly, I found the reintroduction of Christine Stewart and the whole “oh, Gilbert doesn't love me anymore“ subplot unconvincing. Far more so than its happy resolution! 2y

TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - I agree, it felt more unconvincing that Anne would still be jealous of Christine after all these years. It was just such a weird thing to bring up in that introduction!! 2y

TheAromaofBooks @kwmg40 @BarbaraJean - I actually felt like the post-WWI scenes showed that Anne and Gilbert had grown together through their grief. And even though it's sad, I actually appreciated the final scene in the book where Anne tells Jem that in some ways she's thankful that Walter didn't come back. I do think this book reflects LMM's horror that WWI is not going to be “The Great War“ - I can't imagine living through the horrors of WWI and then ⬇ 2y

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) watching it all happen again, except worse. Rilla ends with a hopeful look to a better future, and if there are “darker tones“ in this volume, I think it's because LMM's worldview has shifted with a second war coming on. 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I get the same sense that Anne & Gilbert had grown through their shared grief, even though there are only hints at it in the text. Honestly, those between-the-lines undertones felt deeper to me than the grief over Joyce in House of Dreams. And the final scene is heartbreaking, but so telling. I agree that it's LMM's shifting attitude toward war that makes this book feel darker and more serious. 2y

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BarbaraJean

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Just a reminder about our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead discussion of The Blythes are Quoted next weekend! I just have Sarah & Julie on my list as participating this month…but let me know if you‘re not tagged & want to join!

How‘s everyone‘s reading going? I‘m enjoying the combination of short stories with poetry & interludes…more than the collections of just short stories that I‘ve read. I like the variety, and the way it‘s structured by “evening.”

TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

kwmg40 I managed to get a copy of the book, so please tag me for the discussion! 2y

TheAromaofBooks I'm enjoying this one more than anticipated, although I do feel like the Blythes are rather overplayed as background characters 😂 2y

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 Yaaaay! Will do! @TheAromaofBooks 😂 It works better in some of the stories than it does in others! 2y

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BarbaraJean

The Blythes Are Quoted: Penguin Modern Classics Edition | L. M. Montgomery

Who's in for our November #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead?

Although this can be considered an Anne book, it‘s more Chronicles of Avonlea than Anne of Green Gables. I've been hesitant to read it because I definitely prefer the novels. But my completionist nature seems to have won out since it's our pick for November! This is another one I‘m having a hard time sourcing—no copies in my county library system. So: happy hunting to all you library users!

AvidReader25, quietjenn, Daisey, Jerdencon, catebutler, Bkwrm7, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, AnneCecilie, mom2bugnbee, lauraisntwilder, sblbooks, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean I find the history of this book fascinating: it was written near the end of LMM‘s life (delivered to her publisher the day she died), but wasn‘t published in the form LMM intended until 2009. It‘s made up of short stories and poems interspersed with little vignettes of Anne and her family. Many of the short stories had been published elsewhere and were rewritten to change the setting to Glen St. Mary and to add in references to the Blythes. 2y

LeahBergen I‘ll have to pass on this round. I have too many other “compulsory” reads to get to this month. 😆 2y

BarbaraJean @LeahBergen Totally understand! It‘s that time of year 🤪 I‘ll check back in with you for the Christmas stories in December. 2y

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Daisey I haven‘t been doing well making time for these lately, have no copy available for this one, and lots of other books higher up the list, so I‘ll pass on this one. I‘ll hope to make time for Christmas stories, so please keep me on that tag list. 2y

AnneCecilie I can‘t find this to read online, but I‘ll be back in December. 2y

lauraisntwilder I'm out for this one. I haven't read all the Anne books and I think I'd rather leave this until I have. 2y

AvidReader25 I can‘t get a copy either! 2y

TheAromaofBooks I broke down and bought a copy because hey, who doesn't need a complete set of LMM's works, and I'm getting there 😂 Somehow I have never read this one, so I am both intrigued and apprehensive!! 2y

julieclair I'm in! I found a Kindle copy. 2y

TheAromaofBooks So I was looking for December's book and I'm slightly confused because there seem to be multiple LMM Christmas story collections, some of which have the same stories, or different ones, or a different order, and two of them include The Red Room which doesn't seem remotely Christmasy 😂 So are we reading Christmas With Anne & Other Stories (this one is collected by Rea Wilmhurst), The Complete Christmas Stories, or Christmas Stories? Thank you!! 2y

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Yes, I think this one will definitely be best read after the Anne books, especially the later ones once Anne moves to Glen St. Mary! @Daisey @AnneCecilie @AvidReader25 I wish I'd realized how few readily-available copies there would be on this one! I'll skip you all off the November tag list but add you back in for December's buddy read. @TheAromaofBooks @julieclair Yay! So there will be at least three of us for this month! 😆 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks You're ahead of me! I've been pondering the dilemma of multiple Christmas story collections (there's also a small collection on Serial Reader!). Because there's so much variation across collections, I'm planning to post a list of stories for us to read (story-a-day?) from whatever collection or online platform we desire. And now that I've read The Red Room, I think I'll take it off the list--because HOW is it a Christmas story?! 2y

TheAromaofBooks Oh a list of the Christmas shorts and then we read whichever ones we can find sounds like a good solution haha But I was genuinely bewildered by the inclusion of The Red Room - does it even take place at Christmas?? (I guess it must lol) 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Yeah, I figured a list would fairly easily allow everyone to read the ones they can find and skip the ones they can‘t! There aren‘t enough stories for an LMM story-a-day Advent calendar, but we can sort of come close! I think I have a list of 19. But make that 18 if I take out Red Room🤣 And I looked it up to check—it does take place during a Christmas visit! 2y

julieclair This sounds like a good plan. 2y

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teebe

The Blythes Are Quoted | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Thanks for tagging me @tournevis

⚡️Insomnia but it‘s been a good week otherwise.
⚡️Tights. That sounds weird but I found tights there that are super comfortable and never rip. So if I had a gift card/ if Target was still in Canada, I‘d buy more.
⚡️I‘ve been trying to get my hands on this book for ages and Penguin is releasing it in pb this July.
⚡️Lemon meringue pie
⚡️ @wanderinglynn

#friyayintro

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wanderinglynn Thanks for the tag @teebe 😀 and I hope you get some relief from your insomnia soon. 😴 7y

Itchyfeetreader This book sounds fascinating. Stacked!! 7y

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